Mahela Jayawardene defends Jasprit Bumrah’s sluggish form; calls for 'collective effort' from Mumbai Indians bowlers

MI coach backs Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, urges patience from all quarters. Jayawardene calls for shared bowling responsibility rather than Bumrah alone. MI coach Mahela Jayawardene stands firm behind Bumrah as Mumbai search for a turning point Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene has come out in firm support of pacer Jasprit Bumrah, pushing back against growing concern over the fast bowler's underwhelming returns in IPL 2026 after the latest defeat against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday evening.

MI are rooted at the ninth spot of the IPL 2026 points table, and Bumrah's lack of wickets in recent outings has added fuel to an already heated debate. But Jayawardene was having none of it. He pointed out that bowling is a team function, not a one-man rescue act.

"It's not just Booms; it's a collective effort from all the bowlers. When everyone's working together and you're picking up wickets here and there, that helps Bumrah to be bit more aggressive as well rather than doing a holding job. Everyone tends to have a slow season, but class is always permanent," said Jayawardene.

MORE: CSK youngster Karthik Sharma reveals meaning behind gun celebration Mahela Jayawardene defends Suryakumar Yadav amid lean patch The coach also addressed the lacklustre form of Suryakumar Yadav, who arrived at IPL 2026 carrying enormous expectations after a record-smashing 2025 campaign in which he piled up 717 runs. India's T20 World Cup captain has managed only 183 runs across nine games this season, a far cry from the mayhem he caused just twelve months ago. Jayawardene, though, refused to treat it as a crisis.